Department for Transport

Seaborne Freight

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 6 March (HL14064),whether conversations involving officials and Arklow Shipping took place before the Department forTransport entered into an agreement or signed heads of forms with Seaborne Freight.

baroness sugg: Support from Arklow formed part of the conditions precedent to the contract. Information from Arklow was provided in accordance with the condition of the initial agreement.

Taxis: Greater London

lord palmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Westminster City Council about the reasons forParliament Square being regularly obstructed by black cabs; and what action that are taking as a result of any such discussions.

baroness sugg: The Department has not had any discussions with Westminster City Council about obstructions around Parliament Square. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and managed by Transport for London (TfL). Roads in London are managed by TfL and the relevant London Borough. It therefore falls to TfL and Westminster City Council to deal with traffic management around Parliament Square.

Written Questions

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government under what circumstances they give credit to individual Members of Parliament or Peers in written answers; andfurther to the Written Answer byBaroness Sugg on 7 March(HL13981), whether the inclusion of the fact that the project was "championed by Andrew Stephenson MP, the Hon Member for Pendle" influenced the remainder of that answer.

baroness sugg: The response to HL13981 simply reflects the fact that the Hon Member for Pendle, Andrew Stephenson MP, has made strong representations to Ministers about the proposal to reinstate the Colne-Skipton rail link. In response the Secretary of State for Transport has visited Colne twice in the last 12 months in relation to this scheme and so hence he is personally aware of the Hon Member’s commitment to this scheme. This did not influence the remainder of that answer.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Solar Power: Housing

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the increased use of solar panels on domestic properties.

lord henley: On 8 January, Government published a consultation on a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), which would ensure that small-scale low carbon generators do not export their electricity to the grid for free including, solar PV. The SEG consultation closed on the 5 March 2019. We are currently considering the responses submitted and will respond in due course.The consultation can be viewed on the GOV.UK consultations website.

Wind Power

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage increased wind power generation in public sector buildings.

lord henley: The Government has no plans to encourage increased wind power generation in public sector buildings.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sudan: Politics and Government

the earl of sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the recent declaration of a state of emergency by the President of Sudan, they have given further consideration to ending the present dialogue with the government ofSudan and to withdrawing support for any police, military or customs activity within the Khartoum Process.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have been clear in our statements made with partners that the Government of Sudan's actions and decisions over the coming weeks will have an impact on our approach to future engagement. In addition, the Sudanese Ambassador was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 7 March, during which we registered our deep concern at the situation and the impact this could have on our approach to engagement. The EU's capacity building activity under the Khartoum Process is restricted to supporting the police to tackle organised immigration crime and delivered via a Horn of Africa EU Trust Fund to which the UK contributes. All programme work and contributions are subject to frequent assessment, to ensure they remain relevant and appropriate in the current circumstances, and that political and human rights risks are fully considered and mitigated against.

Sudan: Politics and Government

baroness cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that nine Sudanese women have been sentenced to flogging for protesting against President Omar al-Bashir.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK remains deeply concerned by the Government of Sudan's response to recent protests, including the implementation of a state of emergency and the issuing of emergency orders to criminalise peaceful and legitimate demonstrations. The Minister for Africa most recently raised our concerns with the Foreign Minister of Sudan on 13 March. Our Ambassador in Khartoum has raised the cases of individuals detained with senior officials in the Government of Sudan. This included expressing outrage at the case of nine women sentenced to flogging and a call for their immediate release; we are pleased that these sentences have now been overturned. The UK continues to call publicly for the immediate release of those detained and for the government to respect the rights of the Sudanese people, including their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Sudan: Politics and Government

baroness cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that eight Sudanese men have been sentenced to jail for terms of between six months and five years for protesting against President Omar al-Bashir.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK remains deeply concerned by the Government of Sudan's response to recent protests, including the implementation of a state of emergency and the issuing of emergency orders to criminalise peaceful and legitimate demonstrations. Our Ambassador in Khartoum recently raised the cases of individuals detained in relation to protests with senior officials in the Government of Sudan. This included expressing outrage at the case of nine women sentenced to flogging and a call for their immediate release; we are pleased that these sentences have now been overturned. The UK continues to call publicly for the immediate release of those detained and for the Government to respect the rights of the Sudanese people, including their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The Minister for Africa most recently raised our concerns at the situation with the Foreign Minister of Sudan on 13 March.

British Nationals Abroad: Travel Information

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 12 February (HL13246 and HL13248), whether they will publish the criteria by which they determine their travel advice to British citizens.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Guidance on how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office puts travel advice together, including our criteria for advising British nationals against travelling to a particular place, is published on the GOV.UK website and linked from all 225 travel advice pages. We keep the content of our travel advice under constant review to ensure it reflects our assessment of risk to British nationals and includes information and advice on the most relevant issues.

China: Detainees

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what response they have received from the government of China to representations they have made to that government about the detention in Xinjiang of Uighurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Hui and other minorities; whether British or UN diplomats have sought, and been given, permission to visitdetentioncamps; and if so, what was their assessment of those camps.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government's deepening crackdown; including credible reports that over 1 million Uyghur Muslims have been held in re-education camps, and reports of widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities. Visits to Xinjiang by diplomats from our Embassy in Beijing have corroborated much of this open source reporting.Ministers and senior officials have been raising our concerns directly with the Chinese authorities for some time, and will continue to do so. At the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council which ran from February to March 2019, I raised our concerns about Xinjiang during my opening address (on 25 February). The UK also raised concerns about Xinjiang during our item 4 statement on 12 March, and we co-sponsored a side event on "Protecting the fundamental freedoms in Xinjiang" on 13 March.The Minister for Asia and the Pacific raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018.During China's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 6 November 2018, the UK made a statement which described our concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities in China, including Uyghurs.Following the Universal Periodic Review, I issued a statement where I said: "I am very concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the re-education camps and the widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities, particularly the Uyghurs. The UK and many of our international partners have made clear during China's UPR that this is a priority issue. We recommended that China should implement CERD recommendations in Xinjiang and allow the UN to monitor implementation."

Cabinet Office

UK Trade with EU

lord hoyle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the trade balance of the UK with the EU, broken down by each of the 27 other EU Member States.

lord young of cookham: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.Dear Lord Hoyle, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question asking what is the trade balance of the UK with the EU, broken down by each of the 27 other EU Member States (HL14453). Table 1 below provides the total (goods and services) trade balance, total exports and total imports by EU aggregate and member state in 2017. These data are our latest full year estimates of total trade published 23 January 2018[1] and are consistent with the wider balance of payments. You can find more recent estimates of trade within the same release, although to note, these figures are quarterly estimates up to and including quarter three (July to September) 2018 and are not seasonally adjusted.   Yours sincerely,John PullingerTable 1: Total trade (goods and services) exports, imports and balance for 2017[2] £ million, current price Exports ImportsBalanceATAustria29584261-1303BEBelgium1926627870-8604BGBulgaria831991-160HRCroatia293720-427CYCyprus10791301-222CZCzech Republic30696351-3282DKDenmark62616148113EEEstonia213277-64FIFinland25082850-342FRFrance4098440427557DEGermany5635978586-22227GRGreece23213653-1332HUHungary21203550-1430IEIreland367472193514812ITItaly1926423793-4529LVLatvia393702-309LTLithuania670997-327LULuxembourg32972723574MTMalta1262726536NLNetherlands3855447105-8551PLPoland705212947-5895PTPortugal27745641-2867RORomania18852900-1015SKSlovakia8072724-1917SISlovenia340439-99ESSpain1725631317-14061SESweden1023893628764AEuropean Union Institutions (excl. ECB and ESM)14318125B5Total EU28278944340314-61370Source: Office for National Statistics  [1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade/datasets/uktotaltradeallcountriesnonseasonallyadjusted[2]These data are our best estimate of these bilateral UK trade flows. Users should note that alternative estimates are available, in some cases, via the statistical agencies for bilateral countries or through central databases such as via UN Comtrade.

Public Sector: Leadership

lord hennessy of nympsfield: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve leadership in the public services; and in particular whether they intend to establish the Centre for Public Services Leadership programme recommended by the Public Services Leadership Taskforce in October 2018.

lord young of cookham: The Public Services Leadership Taskforce, chaired by Sir Gerry Grimstone, was commissioned in October 2017 to explore the challenges faced by public service leaders.The Government has accepted the Taskforce recommendations in full and has committed £21m to a three-year pilot of a new Centre to support public service leaders, which will be named the National Leadership Centre. The Centre will launch in the coming months and will be the first of its kind in supporting senior public sector leaders in England to deliver world leading public services.There are three strands to the Centre’s work to support public service leaders: a flagship leadership programme, open to around 100 senior leaders each year; a digitally-enabled network, open to over 1,000 leaders; and an ambitious research programme.

Department for Education

Apprentices: Taxation

baroness byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there has been a underspend of the apprenticeship levies in each of the last three years; if so, by how much; and what consideration they have give to allowing any such underspends to be allocated to training schemes for the upgrade of skills.

lord agnew of oulton: Spending on the apprenticeship programme is demand-led. Employers choose the type, quantity and level of apprenticeships that they offer in order to meet their current and future skills needs.Employers pay the apprenticeship levy to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Employers in England can then set up accounts on the apprenticeship service, allowing them to direct funds to cover the costs of training and assessment for their apprentices. Employers who pay the levy have up to 24 months to spend their levy funds in their accounts. We do not anticipate that all employers who pay the levy will need or want to use all of the funds in their accounts, but they are able to do this if they wish.There is a difference between what employers see in their levy accounts and the department’s annual apprenticeship budget set by Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT). Levy accounts include up to 24 months of levy funds. The department’s annual apprenticeship budget must fund the whole apprenticeship programme, including apprenticeships with smaller employers who do not pay the levy and apprenticeships that started before the levy was introduced.In total, in the 2017-18 financial year, the department spent £1.6 billion (of a £2 billion budget) to fulfil employers’ demand for apprenticeships. Lower than anticipated demand from employers led to an underspend of approximately £400 million. HMT made available a portion of the department's 2017-18 underspend, including the underspend from apprenticeships, for programmes in future financial years. We will publish the expenditure from this financial year in our 2018-19 annual report and accounts after the end of this financial year.A review of the levy is underway in order to consider, amongst other points, how it can be used most effectively.

Agriculture: Education

baroness byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to increasing the funding available for agricultural courses where they contain significant STEM elements.

viscount younger of leckie: The government already provides funding via the Office for Students to support subjects where the costs of teaching exceed the income that providers receive through tuition fees. This includes agricultural courses with elements of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Current rates of high-cost funding are included in the ‘Office for Students: Guide to funding 2018-19’, attached.Future funding for higher education will be announced in the forthcoming Spending Review following the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, which is currently underway. 



HL14290_OfS_Guide_to_Funding_2018_2019
(PDF Document, 293.02 KB)

Distance Learning: Rural Areas

baroness byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to increase the availability of distance learning in rural areas where transport availability is difficult.

viscount younger of leckie: Distance learning offers excellent possibilities to open up choice and opportunity to people from a diverse range of backgrounds, including those from rural areas, and the government believes it should be widely available at a range of educational levels. Student support for tuition at higher education (HE) level is available for students who want to study on a part-time basis or by distance learning. The National Retraining Scheme (NRS) is an ambitious, far-reaching programme to drive adult retraining. It will help individuals to respond to the changing labour market, redirect their careers and secure better, more secure jobs of the future. To inform the design of the scheme, the Flexible Learning Fund is supporting 31 pilot projects across England with a total value of £11.4 million. The projects are designing and testing innovative, flexible learning that is easy to access. The pilots are aimed at adults who are working, or who are returning to work, with either low or intermediate skills. A range of delivery methods are being tested; most of the projects will make use of on-line technologies to a degree, as well as ‘blended learning’ that combines online and face-to-face learning.My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has previously announced that Educational Technology (Edtech) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) would be a key feature of the NRS. Technological innovation and development, including in AI, will play an important part in improving the learning experience, design and effectiveness of online training. The government has committed up to £30 million of funding. Working closely with the technology industry we will look to innovate, test and develop ways in which technological solutions can directly answer the specific needs of NRS users alongside all learners. Details of the funding will be announced in spring 2019. It is only right that HE providers offer a range of options which suit all students, and that students have a real choice about where and how to study. The Review of Post-18 Education and Funding will consider how we can encourage and support more learning that is flexible, like part-time and distance learning, and enable more people to study close to where they live. The review will report later this year. The regulatory system is also a means of opening up HE to a more diverse range of provision and therefore to a wider range of students. The Higher Education and Research Act, which came into law in 2017, placed a duty on the Office for Students to consider other modes of study when promoting choice and opportunity in the provision of HE. Through recent HE reforms, we are working to support and encourage high quality new and innovative provision that has a strong offer for students, helping providers to navigate the regulatory system and we will continue to work with new providers to tackle any barriers that might arise.

Languages: Education

baroness coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the All-Party ParliamentaryGroup on Modern Languages and the British Council,A national recovery programme for languages, published on 4 March.

lord agnew of oulton: The government welcomes the All Party Parliamentary Group’s report. Languages are increasingly important to ensure future competitiveness in the global market.The department’s strategy for languages includes the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) performance measure, which has seen the proportion of GCSE entries from pupils in state-funded schools in a modern foreign language (MFL) increase from 40% in 2010 to 46% in 2018. The reformed national curriculum makes it compulsory for pupils in maintained schools to be taught a foreign language in key stage 2.Our £4.8 million MFL Pedagogy Pilot commenced in December 2018. It is managed by the newly appointed MFL Centre for Excellence and is run through 9 school-led hubs, to improve uptake and attainment in languages at key stages 3 and 4. The department has launched a pilot project in MFL undergraduate mentoring for secondary school pupils to drive up participation in the subject, specifically targeting areas of high disadvantage to extend access to languages for all pupils.Recruiting MFL teachers is also a priority. Generous financial incentives are offered for languages teaching, including scholarships in MFLs worth £28,000, and tax-free bursaries, typically worth up to £26,000. The government is working in partnership with Spain’s Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to deliver Spain’s Visiting Teachers Programme to provide schools with access to a pool of qualified teachers from Spain who are able to teach MFLs. For the 2019/20 academic year. This programme will be open to secondary schools and also (as a pilot) to primary schools. In addition to this, the Teacher Subject Specialism Training programme aims to improve the subject knowledge of non-specialist teachers and returning teachers in MFLs and increase the number of hours taught.The department has also recently launched the new Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, which will attract new teachers to all subjects, including MFLs.The department continues to promote the value of language qualifications to students who are choosing their GCSEs and to their parents. A guidance leaflet for parents was recently published, and can be found attached, which explains why studying a language, as part of the EBacc, broadens opportunities in both education and employment. In February, the department drew attention to the benefits of studying a language among 13-14 year olds through a social media campaign.

Pre-school Education: Staff

the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Education Policy InstituteThe early years workforce in England, published on 17 January; and what steps they intend to take in response to that report in particular the need to ensure increased (1) skills, (2) diversity, and (3) pay levels in the early education workforce.

lord agnew of oulton: We have noted the findings of the report published by the Education Policy Institute. We are already working with the sector on a number of the issues highlighted in their report. In March 2017, we published the attached early years workforce strategy, the government's plans to support employers to attract, retain and develop early years staff to deliver high quality provision: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-workforce-strategy. As a result of the strategy, we have worked with sector stakeholders to develop criteria for new more robust level 2 qualifications, considered how the gender diversity of the workforce can be improved, as well as developing new career pathways information to support careers advice, recruitment and staff development: https://www.cache.org.uk/media/1417/dfe-career-pathway-map-v17.pdf. The career pathways map is attached. We are supporting employer trailblazer groups to develop new apprenticeship standards for the early years workforce and have announced a £20 million investment in professional development and training for early years practitioners in pre-reception settings in disadvantaged areas. Employers in the early years sector are responsible for setting the pay and conditions for their employees, within the statutory requirements set by government (for example, national minimum wage). 



HL14293_Early_years_workforce_strategy
(PDF Document, 638.42 KB)




HL14293_Early_years_career_progression_map
(PDF Document, 590.19 KB)

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

lord berkeley: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what consideration has been given to relocating the House of Lords to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building in King Charles Street during the period of reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster.

lord mcfall of alcluith: The R&R Programme Team carried out work with the Government Property Unit to assess the suitability of sites on the Government estate for relocation of the House of Lords during the restoration and renewal works on the Palace of Westminster. One of the options involved use of the courtyard of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building in King Charles Street. However, this was considered to be a sub-optimal solution that would require further decant accommodation to be delivered over multiple locations and had space constraints around the Chamber. Concerns were also raised in relation to security and access to the site for construction. Subsequent work has identified the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre as the most suitable decant location for the House of Lords. The House of Lords Commission agreed the QEII Centre as the preferred option for decant in September 2018.

Peers' Staff: Personnel Management

lord foulkes of cumnock: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the estimated annual cost attributable to the House of Lords of the HR support services for Peers' staff administered by Croner Group Ltd.

lord mcfall of alcluith: The total cost of the contract with Croner Group Ltd. in place for the period from 8th October 2018 to 7th October 2019 is £21,985. The cost of this contract is shared between the House of Commons and the House of Lords administrations. The total portion of this cost attributable to the House of Lords for HR support services for Peers' staff is £6,595.50.

Ministry of Defence

Maritime Patrol Aircraft: Torpedoes

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to work with Boeing to integrate Sting Ray Mod 1 with the P-8A Poseidon.

earl howe: I refer the Noble Lord to the answer my hon. Friend, the former Minister for Defence Procurement (Gutto Bebb) gave in the House of Commons to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Wayne David) on 21 May 2018 to Question 144839.



Maritime Patrol Aircraft: Torpedoes
(Word Document, 27.07 KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Food Banks

lord hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many foodbanks have opened in England since 2010.

lord hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many food banks have opened in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland since 2010.

baroness buscombe: There is no official data or record of the number of foodbanks in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Details of foodbanks operating through the Trussell Trust network and statistics on the number of food parcels distributed can be found on the charity’s website www.trusselltrust.org. The Independent Foodbank Network is also working to identify food banks in the United Kingdom operating outside the Trussell Trust network; further information is on their website www.foodaidnetwork.org.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

baroness sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, for individuals identified as entitled to income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) but who were moved to contributory-based ESA from incapacity benefit, any assessment is being undertaken of the amount of housing benefit to which those individuals would have been entitled; and if so, what plans there are to compensate them for this cost.

baroness sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, for individuals identified as entitled to income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) but who were moved to contributory-based ESA from incapacity benefit, any assessment is being undertaken of the amount of (1) council tax benefit, and (2) council tax support to which those individuals would have been entitled; and if so, what plans there are to compensate them for this cost.

baroness buscombe: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support Schemes are operated by local authorities. These schemes have a range of eligibility criteria and those affected by the ESA underpayment exercises may have qualified under alternative eligibility criteria. However, as part of the ESA underpayment exercise we are liaising with Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and we are informing Local Authorities of any new, past awards of income-related ESA in line with our business as usual procedures. This will support local authorities to consider further any possible impacts of the ESA underpayment exercise.

Poverty

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress the Department for Work and Pensions has made in achieving sustainable development goal 1,End poverty in all its forms everywhere,for which it is the lead department; and what steps that department has taken to publicise its work on that goal.

baroness buscombe: The Prime Minister has committed the UK to undertaking a Voluntary National Review (VNR) on progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda. This will be presented to the UN’s High Level Political Forum in July this year. The Department for Work and Pensions is leading work across Government to assess progress against sustainable development goal 1 and, as part of this, has been engaging with a broad range of external stakeholders.

Social Security Benefits: Deductions

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action is open to a social security claimant where a utility company is reclaiming arrears from their benefit payment but the claimant contests the amount of the arrears because of a faulty meter.

baroness buscombe: For legacy benefits (JSA, IS and ESA), where a claimant notifies DWP they are disputing liability for the debt the deductions are stopped until this is resolved. Deductions for arrears of fuel charges are taken from UC as a last resort when other recovery methods have failed and it is considered to be in the best interests of the claimant and their family to prevent the risk of fuel disconnection. However, if a claimant provides evidence that the deductions should not be made, a DWP Decision Maker would consider whether the deduction should continue. Disputes about the amount of arrears a utility company say a claimant has are to be resolved between the claimant and their utility provider.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Pets: Sales

baroness parminter: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possibility of illegal puppy and kitten dealers establishing themselves as rescue centres to continue their trade after the ban on third-party sales of such animals comes into force; whether they intend to carry out a consultation on that issue; and whether they intend to introduce licensing requirements on animal sanctuaries and rescue centres to prevent any such activity.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government is committed to banning the third party sale of puppies and kittens in England and the necessary secondary legislation will be laid before Parliament later in this session. We recognise the concern that some unscrupulous breeders may consider setting up as rescue and rehoming centres, and we will provide guidance to Local Authorities to help them distinguish between genuine rescue and rehoming centres and other commercial operations. In parallel, we are working with stakeholders to understand the impact that any licensing scheme would have on the sector. Further detail on the Government’s overall approach to the licensing of animal rescue and rehoming centres was set out by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in a Westminster Hall debate on 26 February 2019. The Hansard of the debate can be found here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2019-02-26/debates/EC70319B-914E-408C-A987-7C4DE9D98F1E/AnimalRescueHomes

Home Office

Police: Recruitment

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what would be the net cost to (1) central government, and (2) local authorities, of providing an additional 20,000 police officers in the UK.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office has responsibility for policing in England and Wales, where the size and composition of the police workforce is a local decision for Police and Crime Commissioners, working with chief officers. Policing in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.The police funding settlement for 2019/20 in England and Wales increases funding by around £970 million, including additional funding for pensions, and income from council tax. PCCs have been setting out their plans to use this additional funding to recruit around 2700 additional police officers and 600 staff.

Cannabis: Licensing

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 4 March (HL13809), how many of the seven high THC cannabis cultivation licences for research granted since 2016 were renewals of existing licences.

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 4 March (HL13809), how many of the 30 high THC cannabis cultivation licences for the extraction of cannabinoids granted since 2016 were renewals of existing licences.

baroness williams of trafford: Controlled Drug licences may be granted to named entities at individual premises. Licences to cultivate cannabis are not issued to individuals for personal cultivation. Licensed companies may have been contracted to cultivate cannabis at a specific site on behalf of another company.To date, a total of 9 licences have been issued for high THC cannabis cultivation for research since 2016, each valid for a period of one year and covering one growing site only. 7 were renewals of existing licences during this period.To date, a total of 30 licences have been issued for high THC cannabis cultivation for the extraction of cannabinoids since 2016, each valid for a period of one year and covering one growing site only. 24 were renewals of existing licences during this period.

Northern Ireland Office

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

lord hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Duncan of Springbank on 5 March (HL13923), whether the remarks by that Minister on30 October 2018 (HL Deb, col1311) about the early provision of pensions for those who were severely physically injured in the Northern Ireland Troubles still stand, namely "That is not to put it into the long grass or put it away, but to recognise that it must be progressed" and"We will guarantee within six months. So, yes, we will be able to do it within six months and I hope that that will therefore give some comfort to noble Lords that we take this matter with the utmost seriousness and we will move it forward"; andfrom when the guarantee of “within six months” will apply.

lord duncan of springbank: The Noble Lord will recall that this answer was given in response to questions from Baroness O’Loan and Lord Cormack about how long the Victims Commissioner would take to produce her advice. The Victims Commissioner has indicated that she is on track to give us full advice by the end of March. As I have previously stated, the scope of that advice includes “a proposal for, or options for, the type of pension which should be provided including consideration of a two-phased approach to delivery with a physical injury pension being rolled out first followed by psychological (and any risks of this approach)”. As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has indicated, the UK Government’s priority in Northern Ireland continues to be the restoration of the NI Executive. If, despite best efforts, the NI Executive has not been restored by the time updated advice on a pension has been provided by the Victims Commissioner, the Northern Ireland Office will consider how this matter can be progressed in the absence of NI Executive Ministers.

Department for International Trade

Import Duties

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of business uncertainty regarding possible Government plans to cut import tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

baroness fairhead: The Government has announced that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the UK will implement a temporary tariff. This is a balanced tariff policy which aims to minimise costs to business and mitigate price impacts on consumers. The Government has set out extensive information through the gov.uk website about what this policy will mean for businesses and the public.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling: Students

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the National Union of Students’ gambling survey, published on 25 February, that (1) three in five students have gambled in some way over the past 12 months, (2) almost one in ten have used all or some of their student loan to gamble, and (3) four per cent of respondents owed over £20,000 as a result of gambling.

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the National Union of Students’ gambling survey, published on 25 February, that 29per cent of respondents were under the age of 16 when they had first gambled.

lord ashton of hyde: All operators providing gambling facilities to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with licence conditions. These include requirements to prevent underage gambling, offer tools to help consumers manage their gambling and offer the facility to self-exclude. The publication Gambling Behaviour in Great Britain 2016, which is based on the Health Surveys and reports participation and problem gambling rates, indicated that that rates of low risk gambling were highest among those aged 16 to 24 (5.8%), and we support measures to offer additional protections to this group. NUS has recently announced Gamban, software blocking gambling websites and apps, will be made available for free to students. The Commission welcomed the work done by the National Union of Students (NUS) to explore gambling behaviour among those at university students, but noted that caution must be taken to use these results in context, as the research did not seek to be representative of the population, and used methodology which may slightly over-estimate the role of gambling in students’ lives. The Gambling Commission’s Young People Survey 2018 looked at gambling behaviour by 11-16 year olds. The most popular activities were those in which children could take part legally, for example private bets with friends. All operators must have effective policies and procedures designed to prevent underage gambling, and the Commission has a range of powers to act in the case of failures. The survey found that in some instances parents and guardians were facilitating gambling, for example, buying lottery tickets or scratchcards on behalf of a child under 16.

Gambling

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Gambling Commission’s Gambling participation in 2018: behaviour, awareness and attitudes survey findings that (1) there has been a three per cent decline in the proportion of respondents who think that gambling is fair and can be trusted, compared to 2017, and (2) 71per cent of respondents think that gambling is dangerous for family life.

lord ashton of hyde: Millions of people enjoy gambling responsibly, but this must be balanced against the need to protect vulnerable people from gambling-related harm. We recognise there are risks associated with gambling, which is why there is a strong regulatory framework designed to prevent harm, as well as provisions to support those who do experience harm. Regulation of gambling in Great Britain is governed by the licensing objectives in the Gambling Act 2005, which include keeping gambling fair and open and protecting children and vulnerable people. All gambling companies providing facilities to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with its licence conditions and codes of practice. The Gambling Commission monitors operators to ensure that they comply with their licence conditions and can take regulatory action where there is evidence of a breach. The government's Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures looked at protections on gaming machines, online gambling and gambling advertising and set out a comprehensive package of measures to further strengthen these.